Nashville

[ucjrdude902]

Did anyone get a chance to catch it? I'm not sure if I'm liking it or not. By all means it was the first episode so I'll watch a few more before I decide. It apparently got strong reviews.

[WhizzerMarvin TrinaJasonMendel]

Ha, ucjrdude! I'm following your tv posts around today. Start an Arrow thread next please!

I absolutely loved this one. I think it's up with Revolution as one of the stronger new shows of this season.

Connie Britton is so freaking good, and if she gets an Emmy nomination she will have been nominated in four consecutive seasons for three different shows: Friday Night Lights 2010, Friday Night Lights 2011 and American Horror Story 2012.

Panettiere was teetering on pure camp, and if left unchecked she could start slipping into Neely O'Hara territory. Truth be told, this morning this really cute guy bumped into me on the subway platform and I ALMOST said, "We should do that again sometime, only slower."

If you're on the fence, keep watching.

[Wynbish]

I really enjoyed it. I've been in Nashville many times, so it was nostalgic for me to see the Opry and the bat building.

It was a little odd, as a Remember the Titans fan, to watch the player that was kicked off the team making out with the coach's daughter.

[WhizzerMarvin TrinaJasonMendel]

The initial ratings are out. Nashville scored a 2.8 in the 18-49. Not bad, but not great either.

[strummergirl]

I liked it. Though I was constantly confusing the husband and Deacon.

But Connie Britton said "Y'all" again, y'all. That is something to celebrate!

[Tom1071]

"The initial ratings are out. Nashville scored a 2.8 in the 18-49. Not bad, but not great either."

That was better than whatever CSI was on last night or Chicago Fire's ratings.

***Correction...CSI had a larger number of viewers but Nashville won the 18-49 demographic viewership (meaning it got the best numbers from its target audience).

[ucjrdude902]

I think Chicago Fire had it tough going up against Nashville which ABC poured ALOT of money into promotion.

[Tom1071]

There's that but I don't think anyone expects very much out of NBC dramas anymore.

[WhizzerMarvin TrinaJasonMendel]

Yeah, Nashville beat CSI and Chicago Fire, which is good, but it didn't have the debut numbers of something like Revolution or Elementary.

Still it did better than Last Resort or Vegas. I think Vegas must be the biggest disappointment of the season for CBS. They poured a lot of time and money into marketing it and it's fallen completely flat.

[ucjrdude902]

Wasn't there a show dedicated to Vegas a while back? Or am I thinking of something else?

[Wynbish]

There was Las Vegas, a show with James Caan and Josh Duhamel, that ran for a couple seasons.

[Tom1071]

I think word of mouth and all the positive reviews from the critics will bring higher viewership. One reason the numbers might not have been as high is because it was available for free download as early as a week and a half ago. I didn't watch last night because I had already seen it...although I still DVR'd it.

[ucjrdude902]

My Dad watched Vegas and loved it.

[EricMontreal22]

And there was Vega$ back in the 70s.

I really enjoyed Nashville! Some quibbles with the pilot, and I'm curious to see how it settles into a weekly routine, but a lot of great stuff. While it's an expensive show to do, I think ABC should be happy with the ratings. I agree that the main issue I see is how to walk the fine line of camp. Good acting helps, but if we get a scene revealing that Connie's character's father sexually abused her as a child, played all with screaming and shaky camera movements, it could go too far.

I confused the husband and Deacon the first few times, too, Strummer. Creator Callie Khouri being married to music producer T-Bone Burnett certainly makes the music sound authentic and, at least in the pilot, actually pretty good.

Someone mentioned Revolution, and I have to say I dropped it after last week--and the couple of friends I knew who were watching did too. Disappointing.

[mormonophobic]

I really liked the pilot and will be tuning in each week. It was great seeing The Coach’s Wife and The Coach’s Daughter (start to) go head to head. Hayden Panettiere was enjoyable on Heroes (when it was good) and downright loveable as Kirby in Scream 4. Connie Britton can basically do no wrong, coming off of two great roles (on incredibly different shows), spanning six seasons.

What I love about Britton’s three Emmy nominations in a row is that for a while there was nothing. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton weren’t nominated at all for the first three seasons of Friday Night Lights. It seemed like it was going to be one of those shows with great actors that go unrecognized. Now she has three nominations and he has an Emmy.

Something that surprised me here is the singing. I’m not the biggest fan of country, but I liked everything I heard. Plus, there’s something magical about seeing these actresses you’ve ‘known’ for years and suddenly hearing something totally new from them. I kind of love it.

Oh, and Jonathan Jackson – more please!

[bobs3]

GLEE can step aside and take its final bow. NASHVILLE was amazing and is going to be the musical show to watch now!

Connie Britton (who is brilliant) and Hayden Panettiere (who is very good) play characters who seem to be (intentionally or unintentionally) inspired by Reba McEntire and Taylor Swift. There is also the All About Eve/Margo Channing/Eve Harrington vibe. Callie Khouri (Thelma & Louise) wrote the script which blew me away.

If the rest of the season is half as good as the pilot, this will be the next big show on television. This will definitely be water cooler and coffee break conversation in offices all over the country this morning.

[Tom1071]

And of course you can buy the music you hear on the show on iTunes.

[EricMontreal22]

"The Coach’s Wife and The Coach’s Daughter (start to) go head to head. "

OK you lost me here... I admit, for the first bit I wasn't paying full attention because of some stuff going at home... Do you mean Connie's character and her *sister*? I don't even remember a coach, but their father, Wyatt is a local politican who wanted to build a stadium or something, so...

I love Connie Britton, and I think she's great in this, as she has been in the other two major TV roles I know her from (Lights and Horror Story), so I almost hate saying this... My one thing about all her praise is--so far, she essentially seems to play the same character. I don't think that's her fault, given all three roles, and I do notice nuanced differences--but not a ton.

[mormonophobic]

Sorry EricMontreal22. As previously referenced in the thread, Hayden Panettiere played The Coach's Daughter in Remember the Titans. Connie Britton was The Coach's Wife on Friday Night Lights. I probably could have worded that a lot better. :)

While I agree she essentially plays the Mother type of role, I don't think Vivien Harmon and Tami Taylor are anything alike. But then again, I really liked last week's Revolution and think it's one of the best new shows of the season. So it's all rather subjective.

[EricMontreal22]

Haha! That's OK, I just completely spaced out and thought I missed a key part of the episode. It makes sense now...

[strummergirl]

I admittedly am not into country music but I think the Reba and Swift comparisons are a little lazy. Even Eve Harrington put up a false front about herself. Hayden's character seems pretty transparent.

[EricMontreal22]

I'd argue that that's fitting--and may be a more modern thing than Eve. She's the hot new item, and the performer the label cares most at the minute about--so why should she go out of her way not to be transparent, I guess?

[strummergirl]

Well say Taylor Swift is actually a monster behind that hyper-earnest, girl next door exterior. That would be a fascinating branding.

[Jordan Catalano]

Count me in as hooked on it. And that song "If I DIdn't Know Better" was brilliant. I just downloaded it and am so happy that it's available on iTunes. Man, that was some good TV.

[EricMontreal22]

But, Strummer, we saw that she has a mother who needs $50 bucks for drugs

[bobs3]

"I admittedly am not into country music but I think the Reba and Swift comparisons are a little lazy."

Reba McEntire is now doing television sitcoms and does occasional shows at Indian casinos. Taylor Swift is filling arenas the way Reba used to do. I think the comparison is fair.

I'm not suggesting that the show is based on any rivalry between Reba and Taylor (as far as I know there is none) but I think that Rayna has a little of Reba in her and Juliette has a little bit of Taylor in her.

It also interesting to wonder if Juliette's personality turned out the way it did is because she grew up with a meth head for a mother.